Method of forming bearings.



L. OLSEN.

METHOD OF FORMING BEARINGS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 2, 19:8.

I Patented May 6, 1919.

WITNESS. (mm/TOR Wm WM PATENT or nr nin'rnoro or romaine renames.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patentedlttlay 61, 19th).

Application filed march a, 1918. Serial No. 220,0!2.

To all whom z'zfimap concern:

Be it known that T, LAWRENCE OLSEN, a. citizen of the United States,residing at Indianapolis, Marion county, and State of Indiana, haveinvented and discovered certain new and useful Improvements in Methodsof Forming Bearings, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to a method of lining bearings and particularly toprocesses for forming bearings having two metals united,

- such as bronze backed Babbitt metal bearmgs.

The object of the invention is to provide a method whereby a bearingcomposed of Babbitt metal or similar metal and a backing of bronze, orother metal, may be produced with great rapidity and in which the liningis of uniform density and the two metals are integrally and firmlyunited by a tight bond with uniform adherence throughout their entiresurface.

The method may be carried out by employing in the practice thereof amachine such as is shown in the accompanying drawings. In thesedrawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section through a centrifugallyoperating machine, and Fig. 2 a cross section of the bearing after ithas been lined and preliminary to its finishing.

Referring to the drawings, 1 indicates a casting of bronze, preferablyin the form of a hollow shell, which may be of the same length as themember to be formed or may be, and preferably is, of a length equal tothe sum of thelengths of several members to be formed. This casting mayfirst be machined, but preferably not to its final thickness. Thediameter of the shell is greater than that of the half-member to beformed to allow for reduction due to splitting unless the member may bespecified as a diameter less than full half size in which case theprovision of original oversize may be omitted. llt is then treated witha suitable acid and dipped in a tank of solder or molten tin so as tocompletely cover the same both interiorly and exteriorly, and therebyprovide a more efiective adhering surface for the Babbitt metal which isto be applied thereto. The shell is then wiped on the exterior to removeexcess solder and preserve the shell and its coating substantiallyconcentric. This coating of solder is indicated by the numeral 2. Theshell is then placed upon the bed plate 3 of a frame of a machine whichis somewhat similar in general construction and operation to acentrlfugal die casting machine, and is clamped between the said bed anda head 4.

The head 4 is rigidly connected by means of bolts 5 with a base plate 6.The head 4 and base plate 6 are relatively movable vertically withrespect to the bed 3, whereby the shell may be clamped between the headand bed members and released therefrom. The bed 3 is rigidly clamped toa rotatable shaft 7 and the base plate 6 is mounted on said shaft so asto rotate therewith but be capable of vertical movement thereon. To thisend the base plate is provided with a longitudinal sleeve 8 keyed to theshaft and to which sleeve are secured bearings 9 coacting with bearingmembers 10 which in turn are fixed to a non-rotatable vertically movablesleeve 11. The sleeve 11 is provided with a longitudinal rack bar 12adapted to be engaged by a pinion 13 suitably mounted in the frame work14 of the machine, and on the shaft of which pinion suitable handlemembers 15 are fixed whereby the pinion may be rotated soas toreciprocate the rack bar and thus raise or lower the sleeve 11, and thebase and head plates 6 and 4. The shaft 7 is adapted to be driventhrough gearing 16 receiving power from any suitable source. On theshaft is mounted a brake member 18 which may be manipulated in anysuitable manner for the purpose of checking the momentum of the shaftand bringing the parts to a quick stop when the power is thrown off.

After the coated shell has been clamped on the machine the drivingmechanism of the latter is connected so as to rotate the carrierconsisting of plates 4, 3 and 6 and then molten Babbitt metal is pouredinto the shell through the opening 19 in the head plate 4. In therotation of the machine, the Babbitt metal will be thrown by centrifugalforce against the inner surface of the bronze shell and will effectivelycover the entire surface thereof and form a lining 20, the closecoalescence or adherence of which to the surface of the casting will beuniform throughout. Owing probably to the fact that the center of theshell is coincident with the center of distribution by centrifugalforce, the lining is of uniform density throughout. The shell is thenremoved and bored to reduce the interior surface to the pro er diameterand to maintain a smooth sur ace. Then the shell is machined off on theexterior thereof to reduce the bronze body of the shell to the requiredthickness and by the same operation the coating is removed and duringthe same step the shell is cut transversely into lengths correspondingto the number of members to be formed. The rings thus formed are thencut longitudinally of the axis of the shell to form half sections. Whena section of a full semicircle, or one greater than full semi-clrcle, isspecified the original shell 1s made over size in diameter to allow forthe reduction produced by the longitudinal cuts in dividing the ringsinto half sections and also for forming the member into true full shape.The bearing is then bent or pressed 1nto final form and the edgesurfaces out off at proper planes to enable them to fit the opposingmember on which they are adapted to be supported whereby when finallyformed the half section will be of the exact size required. This methodenables two full half size sections, or two oversize sections to beobtained from a single piece of stock, thus avoiding the loss ofmaterial that would be occasioned were it necessary to form a section ofless than one-half size which section would have to be discarded sinceit would not fit the other section of the stock.

In bronze backed Babbitt bearings, or similar united metal bodies,heretofore made according to the usual practice 1n forming the sameeither by merely pouring the molten metal within the casting forming theoutside body which is held stationary, or by die casting, blow holes arefrequently formed in the linlng and also great difiiculty has beenencountered, particularly in the latter practice, in obtaining uniformdensity of the inner metal and a tight and uniform bonding of the twobodies. Also in the die cast method, difficulty exists in formingcastings of this character owing to the necessity of forcing the metalthrough the small openings left between the outer metal bodies occupyingthe die and the opposing die wall. The rejections under test of bearingsmade according to the first practice frequently run as high asseventy-five per cent, while it has been found with bearings madeaccording to the method herein described the rejections have been lessthan one per cent. The present method also enables stock to be turn-edout with great rapidity and in lengths which will permit of the divisionof the shell transversely into a multiplicity of bearing members.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is 1. The method ofproducing substantially semi-cylindrical bearing members having twometal bodies united which consists in forming a body of one metal in ahollow aoaeaa continuous cylindrical shell open at both ends, mountingsaid shell upon a rotatable member which closes one end of the shell,introducing the other metal in a molten condition into the open end ofsaid shell, employing said shell as the sole die for the lateral (partof the inner body to be formed, and casting the molten metal against theinner surface of said shell to form a lining integral therewith and thendividing the lined shell longitudinally to form bearing members.

2. The method of forming substantially semi-cylindrical bearing memberscomposed of two united bodies of metal which consists in forming a.hollow continuous cylindrical shell of one metal with both ends open,mounting said shell upon a rotatable member which closes one endthereof, pouring the other metal in molten condition in the end of theshell and rotating the shell to cast the molten metal by centrifugalforce against the inner surface of the shell to form a lining thereforwhile employing said shell as the sole die for the lateral part of theinner body to be formed and then removing said lined shell and dividingthe same longitudinally to form semi-cylindrical bearing members. I

3. The method of forming semi-cylindrical bearing members of two metalsunited which consists in forming a hollow continuous cylindrical shellof one metal the length of which shell is a multiple of the lengths ofthe members to be formed, mounting said 100 shell upon a rotatablemember which closes one end thereof, and employing said shell as thesole die member for the lateral part of the inner body to be formed,pouring the other metal in molten condition in the open 1 end of theshell and rotating said member to cast the molten metal against theinner surface of the shell to form a lining therefor, removing saidlined shell and dividing the same longitudinally and transversely to 110form bearing members.

4. The method of forming backed metal bearings which consists in forminga hollow cylind ical continuous shell of greater diameter than that ofthe final form, coating the 115 shell with a solder compound, closingone end of the shell and rotating the same while pouring the other metalin a molten condition into the other end to enable it to be carriedagainst and united with the interior 12 neoaeee shell of one metal withboth ends open,

mounting said shell upon a rotatable member which closes one endthereof, pouring the other metal in molten condition in the end of theshell and rotating the shell to cast the molten metal by centrifugalforce against the inner surface of the shell to form a lining therefor,while employing said shell as the sole die for the lateral part of theinner body to be formed, and then removing said lined shell.

7. The method of forming semi-cylindrical bearing membersof'two metalsunited which consists in forming a hollow continuous cylindrical shellof one metal, mounting said shell upon a rotatable member which closesone end thereof, and employing said shell as the sole die member for thelateral part of the inner body to be formed, pouring the other metal inmolten condition in the open end of the shell and rotating said memberto cast the molten metal against the inner surface of the shell to forma lining therefor.

8. The method of forming backed metal bearings which consists'in forminga hollow cylindrical continuous shell of greater diameter than that ofthe final form, coating the shell with a solder compound, closing oneend of the shell and rotating the same while pouring the other metal ina molten condition into the other end to enable it to be carried againstand united with the interior surface by centrifugal force.

9. The process of a plying a babbitt lining to the interior sur ace of abearing shell, consisting in applying a wash of molten solder to saidsurface, rapidly rotating said shell while resting upon a coaxiallydisposed subjacent platform, and pourin thereinto and upon said platforma quantity of fluid babbitt for projection against the soldered interiorsurface of said bearing shell by the centrifugal influence of therotation of the same and of said platform.

10. The process of applying a babbitt lining to the interior surface ofa bearing shell, consisting in coating said surface with a film ofadherent heated soft metal, positioning said shell coaxially upon arotative subjacent platform, and rapidly rotating said platformcontemporaneously with the pouring into the open top of said shell ofmolten metal which is centrifugally projected against the interiorsurface by the rotative movement of said platform.

11. The process of lining the interior surface of a bearing shell withbabbitt, consisting in resting the shell upon a subjacent platform,rapidly rotating the same about the axis of said shell, and pouringmolten babbitt through the open top end of said shell while the rotation,is in progress, the centrifugal influence thereof upon the moltenbabbitt serving to apply it with substantial uniformity to the interiorsurface of the shell and to make it adherent thereto while cooling.

' 12. The process of lining the prepared 1nterior surface of a bearingshell with babbitt, consisting in closing the lower end thereof while invertical position, and rapidly rotating the same contemporaneously Withthe pouring into the open top thereof of fluid babbitt, forsubstantially uniform centrifugal projection against said interiorsurface.

13. The process of applying a babbitt lining to the interior of acylindrical-shell,

which consists in temporarily closing one end of said shell and rapidlyrotating it while pouring upon the end closure a quantity of fluidbabbitt. y

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and seal atIndianapolis, Indiana this 12 day of February, A. D. nineteen hundredand eighteen.

LAWRENCE OLSEN. Witnesses:

H. P. DOOLITTLE, M. L. SHULER.

